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See this kid song

..... Bars, bars, why don‘t you climb the bars

Yes, yes, yes, I want to climb the bars

Good, good, the bars are fun for you

Yay, yay, yay, I like them, ooh!

See, see, Monkey likes the bars

One, two, three, climbing‘s fun, you see!

Yes, yes, yes, you see I‘m climbing now!

Climb, climb, climb, I like it, wow! ....


They don't say "the Monkey likes the bar".

You bought your child a stuffed bunny animal. Is it natural to say to the child:

-"Do you love Bunny?" or "Do you love the Bunny?"

-"See! Bunny likes the shoes" or "See! The Bunny likes the shoes" (I say this as a way to encourage the child to wear the shoes. He sometimes doesn't listen to what I suggest to him.)

So, I guess native people may say "Bunny" without "The" when they want to refer it as a proper name or something.

When to say "Bunny" and when to say "the Bunny"?

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Several issues are going on here.

First, this is the diction of a child. You cannot expect perfect grammar in discourse to or from a child. I have a newly born grandson; if he is speaking a language, its grammar is obscure.

Second, you are correct. If a noun becomes a proper name in a certain context, then it is treated grammatically as a name in that context. We do not say

The Tom likes those shoes

We say

Tom likes those shoes

If I name a dog "Monkey," I do not say to my wife

Have you fed the monkey?

when I am asking whether the dog named "Monkey" is what is meant. I ask

Have you fed Monkey?

In writing, you may be given an extra clue through capitalization, but of course that is irrelevant to speech.

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  • Anyway, 'Bunny' is a nickname for a rabbit, so it's fine to call a toy or pet rabbit 'Bunny'. Apr 27, 2020 at 8:42

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